Altoona won its fourth game in the first five of their series with Richmond, with four pitchers combining on a four-hit shutout of the Flying Squirrels on Saturday in a 2-0 Curve win.
Esmerlyn Valdez drove in Mitch Jebb with a first inning single, and drove Jebb in again in the fourth with another single for the Curve’s two runs.
Blake Townsend worked the first three-and-a-third innings, Po-Yu Chen got the win with two-and-two-thirds innings of relief, Mike Walsh threw two innings, and Tyler Samaniego got the save with a scoreless ninth, firing all thirteen pitches for strikes.
With the win, Altoona clinched a series victory over Richmond and now holds a two-and-a-half game lead over Richmond in the Southwest Division with 25 games to play in the Second Half.
Altoona plays their final game at The Diamond with the Flying Squirrels at 5:05 tonight, with right-hander Antwone Kelly taking he mound for the Curve.
